EFF, Public Knowledge, and Other Groups Urge Court to Protect Innovation in EMI v. MP3Tunes

New York - In a legal battle over Internet music storage that could impact innovation and free expression on the Internet, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public Knowledge, and other public interest groups asked a federal judge in an amicus brief Tuesday to protect the "safe harbor" rules for online content in EMI v. MP3Tunes.

MP3Tunes offers a locker service where users can sync their personal digital music and video up to "the cloud" to access from any web browser or many mobile and home entertainment devices. Recording giant EMI claims that MP3Tunes should be held responsible for infringing content stored in the lockers of some of its users. MP3Tunes contends that it is immune from liability because it does not engage in, encourage or benefit from copyright infringement and it quickly removes material identified in a copyright holder's complaint against its users, as required by the "safe harbor" provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In the amicus brief filed Tuesday, EFF and its co-amici argue that EMI is trying to rewrite the "safe harbor" provisions and hold service providers liable for the actions of their users.

"The DMCA safe harbors were designed to encourage the growth of new Internet innovations and expression by helping service providers manage their legal exposure, and they've been an extraordinary success," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "Without the safe harbor provisions, companies like YouTube, Facebook, and many others could have been shut down before they got off the ground. That's not what Congress intended."

The Consumer Electronics Association and the Home Recording Rights Coalition also joined the amicus brief. Local counsel Edward Hernstadt, of Hernstadt Atlas LLP, assisted with the filing.

For the full amicus brief:
https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/emi_v_mp3tunes/07civ9931WHP-AmicusBrief.pdf